UNIONDALE, N.Y.—Game 6 of the Stanley Cup playoffs first-round series between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins was the only game in the NHL on Saturday, which means that it drew the undivided attention of the hockey world.

What the hockey world saw was a three-hour infomercial for a young team with a Hart Trophy finalist, an entertaining style of play, and boundless optimism for the future with a move to Brooklyn looming in 2015—or 2014 if owner Charles Wang can work it out. The Islanders may have lost in overtime, 4-3, and lost the series in six games, but they gained respect -- and for a franchise that has been in the doldrums for the better part of the last two decades, that is a big deal.

The Islanders had an impressive showing in the playoffs despite losing in six games to the Penguins. (AP Photo)

"They've got a good hockey team," said Sidney Crosby, the Hart Trophy finalist from the Penguins who outdueled John Tavares' club. "They're gonna be in a lot more playoffs."

The Islanders' future starts with Tavares, who scored three goals in the series, including the opener in Game 6. Tavares scored 28 goals this season, is 22 years old, and is signed through 2018. The franchise will be built around him, and that is as good of a building block as a team could hope to have.

Tavares is the star, but the supporting cast around him is solid as well, starting with Matt Moulson, a three-time 30-goal scorer who tallied 15 in this abbreviated season. Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey, two forwards the Islanders have been waiting to see make the leap, were among the best players on the ice during the series. Rookie Casey Cizikas also impressed in the playoffs, and there are more talented players on the way, including 2011 first-round pick Ryan Strome, and the previous first-rounder, Brock Nelson, who made his NHL debut on Saturday night.

On defense, the Islanders have to figure out if they can re-sign captain Mark Streit, while pending restricted free agent Travis Hamonic was effective at getting under Evgeni Malkin's skin during the playoffs, and Andrew MacDonald—who missed the final two games of the series through injury—has quickly become a top shot-blocker. Again, there are prospects en route, led by offensive-minded Matt Donovan, who had 48 points in the AHL this season, and last year's first-round draftee, Griffin Reinhart.

All that youth is good, but the Islanders also are in position to add veteran help so that they can have some of the depth that they sorely lacked against the Penguins.

New York has 14 players under contract for next season, at a cap charge of $35.3 million. That means Wang has to spend $9 million to get to the salary floor. If he decides that it's good business to build on this year's unexpected playoff run and starts spending money with a year or two left in a building that's light on revenue streams, the sky is the limit. But the thing is, with all the talent they already have, and will have soon, the Islanders are in good shape for the future even if they don't go on a spending spree. They can afford to be picky. For players who are picky about their destinations, watching Saturday night's game provided food for thought.

"It can't hurt," Hamonic said. "I think that once you're here, you love it, and we've really been confident with this group that we've had in here. I honestly feel that we could have gone very deep in the playoffs, and unfortunate circumstances happened. It seems like people are starting to take notice of our team a little bit, and what we have here. What we have here is something very special. It's a privilege to be able to put this jersey on, and I feel honestly blessed. You talk to 28 guys that we have on this roster—you talk to all of them and they're going to say the same thing. It's a place that we really love to play, and it's nice that maybe around the league, (people are) taking notice that we are taking steps and maturing a little bit. This can only help us."

Proof of Hamonic's point is on the Islanders' blue line, where Lubomir Visnovsky signed a two-year extension after initially filing a grievance to try to void his trade to the Islanders from the Anaheim Ducks.

As for the unfortunate circumstances that Hamonic referenced, New York had a 38-21 advantage in shots on goal in Game 6—a game that they never trailed until Brooks Orpik's overtime goal went in off the crossbar. The Islanders were arguably a better team than the Penguins in four of the six games in the series: the two games that New York won, Saturday night's contest, and Game 3, when Pittsburgh scored three power-play goals, including one in overtime after a controversial holding call against Brian Strait on Crosby.

"They're a very good team," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "I just feel fortunate to get that goal from Paul Martin (in the third period of Game 6) to tie it up and be able to get the game-winner, get those four wins, and move on."

The Penguins escaped, and they knew it. One of the big reasons why was that Evgeni Nabokov simply did not stop enough pucks. The 37-year-old goaltender had an .842 save percentage in the series, and was pulled twice. While Nabokov did not give up goals as soft as the ones surrendered by Marc-Andre Fleury before the Penguins replaced him with Tomas Vokoun for Games 5 and 6, it is not as if Nabokov stealing the series was ever in play as a possibility.

"The team played really well," Streit said. "We improved a lot and made it to the playoffs, but we lost against a really good hockey team. Today, we dominated sometimes—we were up 3-2 and they tied it up on kind of a fluky bounce. We went to OT and they get one off the crossbar. How many times do you hit that shot? At the end of the day, they won, we lost, and that's part of sports."

Part of sports also is looking to improve a team, and goaltending is a big spot where the Islanders can get better. Nabokov had a pedestrian .910 save percentage during the regular season, and is an unrestricted free agent this summer. So is Tim Thomas, unless the Islanders toll the contract of the goalie they acquired for the purposes of getting to the salary floor this year. Rick DiPietro still has eight years left on his contract, but was not even on the roster in the playoffs, as Kevin Poulin served as the backup following DiPietro's demotion to Bridgeport at midseason.

If there is a spot on the ice where it makes sense for the Islanders to spend money on a veteran, it is in net. It also should benefit New York that the goalie market this summer looks like a game of musical chairs, with Thomas, Ilya Bryzgalov, Roberto Luongo, Ryan Miller, and Mike Smith all in play to various extents.

Whoever is in net when the Islanders return to the ice will have a talented team in front of him, a team that now has playoff experience, and a team that will be hungry to get back—led by one of the top three players in the league this year.

"I think we're going to learn a lot about what it takes to be in the playoffs, to get to the playoffs, and we understand it's going to take even more to win a series," Tavares said. "It's tough to take it all in right now. It's disappointing. We want to play tomorrow."